Knock-down drawer assembly

ABSTRACT

A knock-down drawer assembly comprises first and second pairs of opposed, drawer defining vertical panels, interengaging means for interengaging the same, a drawer bottom mountable on the panels, and track means for slidably mounting the assembled drawer on a structural member.

United States Patent Greer 1 Dec. 16, 1975 KNOCK-DOWN DRAWER ASSEMBLY 3,610,719 10/1971 Alston 312/263 3,653,735 4/1972 Duepree 312/330 [76] Inventor. Ph llp A. Greer, 156 M1111ken Creek 3,687,512 8/1972 Alston h I u 3l2/33O Drlve, NaPa,Ca\1f- 94553 3,716,284 2/1973 Vogt 312/350 X 22 Filed: Apt 17, 9 3,722,974 3/1973 Hartman 312/330 3,726,579 4/1973 Ullman 312/330 [21] AppI. N0.: 461,526 3,744,869 7/1973 Anderson et a1. 312/330 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIGNS 1 Cl H ?3 42 1,085,624 10/1967 United Kingdom 312/330 [5 Int- CL- Primary Examiner l)aul [58] Field 61 Search 49/504; 160/381; 312/205, 5,222 jjjgjlg zglfi g [56] References Cited 1 1 ABSTRACT UNITED STATES PATENTS A knock-down drawer assembly comprises first and 1,017,354 2/1912 Wege 312/257 R Second Pairs Of Opposed, drawer defining vertical p 3,009,51 11/19 1 1 160/381 e1s, interengaging means for interengag'mg the same, 21 3,328,106 6/1967 MuIIin... 312/341 R drawer bottom mountable on the paneIs, and track 3,360,320 12/1967 Lust 312/257 R means for slidably mounting the assembled drawer on 3, 16,850 12/1968 HIIfiIlgCl' et a1. 312/341 R X a tructural member 3,490,823 1/1970 Neu et a1. 312/330 X 3,556,626 1/1971 Schock 312/3 30 3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures US. Patent Dec. 16, 1975 eet 1 f 2 E EFl.

US. Patent Dec. 16, 1975 Sheet 2 of2 3,926,491

KNOCK-DOWN DRAWER ASSEMBLY blThis invention relates to knock-down drawer assemlCS.

in finishing hospitals. clinics, office buildings. apartment houses, condominiums, and other types of buildings containing a multiplicity of built-in cabinets, there is need for a drawer supplied in knock-down condition to be assembled in the cabinets at the construction site.

it is the general purpose of the presentinvention to provide such a drawer, characterized by the following advantages.

it consists essentially of but four easily assembled components, viz a front, a back, two tom.

The components may be assembled into the finished drawer easilyand rapidly.

The front and back components are identical, as are the two sidefpieces, thereby minimizing the number of required drawer parts. I

it is provided with drawer guides integral with the drawer sides, thereby further minimizing the required number of drawer parts. t g

Drawers of any desired length, width and depth may be created from a minimum number of drawer parts by simple operations of trimming stock pieces and interlocking them into the finished drawer.

The inner surfaces of the assembled drawer are smooth and in a finished condition immediately after assembly. without requiring before use a separate painting or lining operation.

The assembleddrawers may be mounted in standard vertical shelf supports without the necessity of using special fasteners. I 1

A large number of the :drawers maybe shipped in knock-down condition, with resultant economy of packaging and transportation costs, as well as of storage space requirements.

The manner in which the foregoing and other objects of this invention are accomplished will be apparent from the accompanying specification and claims, considered together with the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a foreshortened plan view of the hereinde scribed knock-down drawer assembly in its assembled condition:

sides and a bot-= 2 slotted ribs of the first of the pairs, and engugcablc therewith in the assembled condition of the drawer. Preferred interengaging means comprise screws pCllL" trating openings in one of the pairs and self threaded into the slotted ribs of the other of the pairs.

At least one pair of the panel pairs has drawer bottom mounting means along the lower margins of the com onent panels. and a drawer bottom mounted therein. Trackxmeans are mounted on the outer faces of the components of the side panels. Track mounting means are provided for mounting the track means.

Considering the foregoing in greater detail and with particular reference to the drawings:

The hereindescribcd knock-down drawer assembly basically comprises a pair of identical front and back panels, a pair of identical side panels. a bottom panel. and a pair of track or guide members employed for mounting the assembled drawer on or in a structural unit.

in FIGS. 1-4 inclusive the front and back panels are indicated generally by the numeral 10; the two side panels by the numeral 14; the bottom panel by the numeral 18;and the two track or guide members by the numeral 20. i

As noted, it is a feature of the invention that the front and back panels may be identical to each other. as may the two side panels. Rights and lefts are formed by merely reversing the position of the panels. Also, the panels may be cut to lengthas required to fabricate drawers of any desired length or width, a number of the panels being stacked and trimmed during one ope ration for economy' of effort and time. This greatly reduces the number of parts which must be stocked to fabricate'drawer assemblies suitable for various instalthe assembled drawer. As shown particularly in FlG. 4,

FIG. 2 is a .fragmentarytransverse sectional view thereof taken long line 22 of FIG..I.

drawer assembly taken along line 3--3 of FIGIZ. i, FIG. 4 isa fragmentary perspectiveview taken along line 4-4 of'FlGJl. m 1

tural support; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged-fragmentary, foresho itened these units of the assembly each comprise a base 22 having a planar inner surface which forms an interior surface of the drawer. it is a feature of the invention that this surface per se isa finished surface, so that painting orlining of the interior surfaces of the drawer .is unnecessary. FIG. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal view of the.

perspective view ofthe end and" side panels f mg;

drawer,- illustrating their manner of assembly into the final drawer. t

Broadly considered, the knock-down drawer bly of my invention comprises first and second pairs of opposed, drawer defining panels. One of the pairs comprises the front and back; the other, the two sides of the drawer assembly. Each component of one of the pairs, normally the pair comprising the front and back panels, has on one of its facev surfaces at least one slotted rib extending substantially the length thereof. Each com ponent of the other of thepairs,normally the side'pane els, has panel interengaging means aligned with the Front and back panels 10 each have on their exterior surfaces a plurality of outwardly extending longitudinal projections. The first'of these is, a flange 24 formed at substantially right angles to base plate 22 and located at thetop. it serves a'stiffeningand finishing function.

- At least one, preferably two, longitudinal split ribs 26 run the entire length of the panel and provide continuous slots 28. These are formed with central enlarged areas which providecontinuous, self-threading screw holes the length of the ribs.

1 KA' preferably continuouschannel segment 30 is located at the bottom of each panel. it serves the function of mounting the bottom of the drawer. its bottom segment is formed with a continuous rib 32 the function of which will appear hereinafter.

Front panel 10 also mounts a decorative facin pa ncl 34 in the final drawer assembly, FIG. I.

Like front and back panels 10, side panels 14 are of identical construction and used in mirror image relation to'each other in the assembled drawer. The construction of these panels is illustrated particularly in 3 H68. 2 and 3.

Each of the side panels comprises a base plate 36. The plate has a smooth inside surface which forms the finished surface of the drawer without the necessity of painting or overlying it. t

The upper outer margin of each side panel N'mounts an outwardly directed tlange'38 the undersurface of which is contoured to provide a roller track 40. The lower outer margin of each side panel is formed with an inwardly directed channel 42. The bottom component of each channel is provided with a longitudinal rib 44.

The sidepanel channels 42 correspond in function to front and back panel channels 30 in providinga means for supporting a drawer bottom 18, which is confined and clamped between the panels when the drawer is assembled. The drawer bottom may be made of any suitable structural material. preferably wood particle board, plywood. or lumber.

Side panels 14 also mount a pair of rollers 46 which may be made from nylon. teflon or other low friction plastic material. The rollers preferably are ball bearing mounted on shafts 48 and are retained by mounting bolts 50 supported on plates 36.

Panel interengaging means interengage the front side and back panels in drawer-forming relation. with the drawer bottom confined in the channels-with which the panels are provided.

Although various types of panel interengaging means may be employed for this purpose. it is preferred to employ a plurality of screws 52 which penetrate openings 54 through side panels 14, FIG. 6, and self thread them selves into slots 28 of ribs 26 carried on the outer faces of front and back panelslO.

Track and guide means mount the drawer assembly thus constituted in a cabinetor other mounting opem.

ing. The construction and manner of application of the track and guide meansis illustratedparticularly in FlGS. 3 and 5. v

The track and guide. means comprise-twomembers indicated generally at 20. Like the panels of thedrawer, they may be fabricated from extruded sheets of metal or plastic. 5

Each track and guide means includes a base 56 which comprises a continuous plate extending substantially the length of the drawer assembly. The inner face of the base mounts a track 58 contouredand arranged to receive rollers 46 mounted on the side panels of the drawer. The'inner face of the plate also mounts aroller 60. This is similar inconstruction to roller 46. Thus it may comprise a roller fabricatedffrom nylon,'.teflon or shaft 62 by means of ascrew gl lollerfii) is spaced from roller 46 both longitudinally and vertically'and cooperates with the latter roller in mounting the drawer for in and out sliding movement inthe supporting struc turc.

or other structural support in the usual manner. Track and guide plates 56 then are provided with upper and d if desired, the track guide plates may secured 10 length and width of the drawers is determined simply by trimming the front. back and side panels to length and then forming apertures 54 in the appropriate places. Since ribs 26 are continuous, there always will be present openings 28 to receive screws 52 no matter to what extend front and back panels 10 are shortened.

Variations in depth of the drawer assembly may be accommodated by the simple structural expedient illustrated in FIG. 6.

in this embodiment of the invention the front. back 30 and side panels are provided in longitudinally divided segments. One class of such segments l0, 14 are of a first width. for example 2 inches, while a second class of such segments. [0a. 14a. are of a second width, for example 4 inches. This arrangement makes possible as sembling drawers having depths of a multiple of 2 inches.

The manner in which this is accomplished is illustrated in FIG. 6.

Segment 10a is of substantially the same construction as is segment 10, except .that it is of greater width, with ribs 26 being spaced farther apart.

Similarly segment 14a is of substantially the same construction as segment 14 except that it is of greater width. In this case, however, the upper margin is extended and formed with an outwardly directed flange 76. Unlike flange 38, flange 36 is not provided with a track 40.

- in assembling the drawenthe panel segments first are interlocked in the manner shown in- FIG. 6. Thus, the

40 upper portion of panel segment 10a is nested within the lower or channel segment of panel 10 with the bottom component of the channel received in slot 28 of rib 26. Here rib 32 is of service by being received in a sliding fit into the enlarged portion of slot 28.

in a similar manner flange 76 of side segment 14a is received within the lower channel member of side panel segment 14. In this case interlocking of a flange with a rib is not required since'the side panel segments are supported and maintained in position by means of screws 52. other low frictio'nsplastic ball bearing-mounted on a With'the front, back and sidepanel segments thus interengaged to form a drawer of the" desired depth, drawer bottom 18 is put'injplace and-all of the components interlocked by threading screws 52 into slots 28 of ribs 26. Theassembled drawer then is mounted on trackand guidemernbers 20' by inserting the drawer bctweenthe track and guidemembers, with rollers 46 tracking on tracks 58 and rollers 60 tracking on tracks 40.

Q in this manner there are provided knock-down drawer assemblies fulfilling the objects of the invention and in particular providing knock-down drawer asse mblies comprising a minimum number of prefabricated parts which are assembleable easily and quickly into finished drawer units of any desired dimensions.

Having thus described my invention in preferred embodiment's', I claim:

I. A knock-downdrawer assembly comprising:

a. a pair of drawer side panels of like and uniform cross section,

b. a pair of drawer end panels of like and uniform cross section extending between and abutting the inner surfaces of the side panels,

c. each of said end panels having on its outer face at least one integral slotted rib extending the length thereof,

(1. self-threading screw means extending through openings through said side panels aligned with said slotted ribs and removably connected therewith in the assembled condition of the drawer,

e. drawer bottom mounting means on the lower inner margins of the panels of at least one of said pairs of panels,

f. a drawer bottom mounted removably in said drawer bottom mounting means in the assembled condition of the drawer.

g. an integral track member on the outer face of each drawer side panel, and

h. a pair of track mounting members adapted for attachment to structural supports adjacent the sides of the drawer and including roller means engaging said track member for supporting the drawer for in and out movement relative to the track mounting members. 2. The knock-down drawer assembly of claim 1 vwherein each side and end panel includes a pair of longitudinal segments adapted to be interconnected ed gewise to provide a panel of increased depth, wherein the drawer bottom mounting means comprises inwardly directed channel means integral with the bottom margin of each of said end panel segments, each channel means including an inwardly directed terminal flange, wherein a slotted rib is located adjacent the upper end of each lower end panel segment and wherein the slotted ribs are provided with slots dimensioned for reception of said terminal flanges of the upper segments, thereby enabling assembling the end panel segments into end panels of increased depth by telescoping the terminal flanges of the upper segments into the slots of the lower segments.

3. The knock-down drawer assembly of claim 2 including interlocking groove and rib components on the slotted ribs and terminal flanges for removably securing them together. 

1. A knock-down drawer assembly comprising: a. a pair of drawer side panels of like and uniform cross section, b. a pair of drawer end panels of like and uniform cross section extending between and abutting the inner surfaces of the side panels, c. each of said end panels having on its outer face at least one integral slotted rib extending the length thereof, d. self-threading screw means extending through openings through said side panels aligned with said slotted ribs and removably connected therewith in the assembled condition of the drawer, e. drawer bottom mounting means on the lower inner margins of the panels of at least one of said pairs of panels, f. a drawer bottom mounted removably in said drawer bottom mounting means in the assembled condition of the drawer. g. an integral track member on the outer face of each drawer side panel, and h. a pair of track mounting members adapted for attachment to structural supports adjacent the sides of the drawer and including roller means engaging said track member for supporting the drawer for in and out movement relative to the track mounting members.
 2. The knock-down drawer assembly of claim 1 wherein each side and end panel includes a pair of longitudinal segments adapted to be interconnected edgewise to provide a panel of increased depth, wherein the drawer bottom mounting means comprises inwardly directed channel means integral with the bottom margin of each of said end panel segments, each channel means including an inwardly directed terminal flange, wherein a slotted rib is located adjacent the upper end of each lower end panel segment and wherein the slotted ribs are provided with slots dimensioned for reception of said terminal flanges of the upper segments, thereby enabling assembling the end panel segments into end panels of increased depth by telescoping the terminal flanges of the upper segments into the slots of the lower segments.
 3. The knock-down drawer assembly of claim 2 including interlocking groove and rib components on the slotted ribs and terminal flanges for removably securing them together. 